Blog

Running For A Cause Near To Her Heart

Hi everyone! My name is Chelsea Prior and I am an official #GameOnPGH Pittsburgh Marathon blogger. My blog, Pittsburgh City Girl (http://www.pittsburghcitygirl.com/) is is all about the good, the bad and the ugly of running. As it all happens, I lay it out there through my weekly training updates, race recaps and more.

I will be running the Pittsburgh Marathon, for the third year in a row, as a ‘Run for a Reason’ charity runner for Our Clubhouse. Our Clubhouse provides free emotional and social support to those touched by cancer in western Pennsylvania.

Our Clubhouse is very near and dear to me because in October 2007, I lost my grandfather to pancreatic cancer. As a 22 year old, just getting my feet set in the world, it was a devastating loss. To me, my grandfather was more than a grandfather. He was my Daddyjack and he was my life. Back then, I wish we both would have known about Our Clubhouse. The free emotional support it provides could have helped my family get through those hard times.

In 2015, when I decided to run my first marathon, I did it for a cause. I did it for Our Clubhouse. Fundraising isn’t easy so I have tried to come up with creative ways to solicit donations. Since the Run for a Reason Charity Program is such a big part of the Pittsburgh Marathon, I wanted to share some ideas to help you along the way.

For the past 2 years, I have done a burpee challenge. Maybe burpees isn’t your thing, so you could certainly substitute something else like push-ups, sit-ups, miles or squats. Chose a challenge day and, for 12 hours, do 1 burpee for every dollar donated. I even threw in a happy hour deal where you could get 2 for 1. In 2015 I did 235 burpees and in 2016, I did 300. Who knows what 2017 will bring?

Who doesn’t love a good happy hour? A lot of local restaurants and bars will team up with someone fundraising and host a benefit happy hour. Two years ago, I did one where people paid at the door and got a free drink. I got half of the proceeds. On March 22nd, I am teaming up with Franktuary for a happy hour where 10% of any bill opened from 5-7pm will be donated to my fundraising campaign. Happy Hours are a great way to connect with local businesses and fundraise without directly asking for donations.

A fun way, where I’ve had success in bringing in money, is find a day on the calendar and ask for donations to match that day. For example, we’ve had a few Friday the 13th’s during previous fundraising campaigns, so I’ll put it out there to donate $13. With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner, why not ask for $17 on the 17th?

No matter what you do to fundraise, have fun with it and just know that every dollar you bring in is going to the cause you’re passionate about. Good luck!